Gusts of up to 77mph ripped roofs from buildings and downed power lines today, causing disruption to train services and key road routes.

Travellers faced lengthy delays after the strong winds and snow combined to cause chaos on the road and rail network in England and Wales.

Among the worst affected were passengers on the West Coast Mainline, including hundreds of travellers stranded on seven trains around Hanslope, between Rugby and Northampton.

Strong winds downed overhead cables affecting trains travelling from both Manchester and London Euston and between Rugby and Milton Keynes.

Train operators Virgin, Midland Mainline and Silverlink made alternative arrangements, laying on bus and diesel services, but said that much time had been lost while engineers battled to restore power.

Railtrack said they hoped the work would be completed as soon as possible.

Lines also came down across tracks between Bristol Parkway and Westerley stations, blocking the London-bound route and slowing trains in the opposite direction.

On the roads, the M4 near Bristol was closed in both directions after more power cables fell across both carriageways, causing huge tailbacks in Bristol and the surrounding area as diversions were imposed.

The old Severn Bridge was also closed to traffic because of high winds.

The M4 was expected to remain closed between junctions 19 and 20 - Bristol and the M5 interchange - until tonight while fire crews removed the debris.

Meanwhile, in Cumbria, snow reduced the M6 near Penrith to one lane and completely blocked the A6 and the A66 trans-Pennine route between Cumbria and Durham.

Several passes elsewhere in the county remain closed, including the Kirkstone Pass and The Struggle, near Ambleside.

Durham Police closed the A66 at its highest point, Stainmore.

An AA Roadwatch spokeswoman said more snow showers and strong winds for the whole region were forecast for Sunday.

"It is the higher areas which are really suffering," she said. "As a result, people seem to be staying at home, we don't seem to have large volumes of traffic."

A Cumbria police spokesman said: "This one wasn't really predicted, it came on us with a vengeance but it all seems to be blowing across over the east, towards the Pennines.

"We were busy this morning, the motorway was never actually completely closed because we had the snow-ploughs and the diggers going."

Strong winds also caused problems across the rest of the region with Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside all under severe weather warning until 9pm this evening.

The AA spokeswoman said: "The winds will get up to 50mph, which is not gale force but certainly strong and something for people to look out for.

"The winds will die down this evening but will blow up again tomorrow, along with a lot of rain. The snow in some areas will turn to rain for much of the day.

"But it is Cumbria, Scotland and the Borders which will suffer the worst."

Elsewhere, gusts blew roofs from buildings, felled trees and downed scaffolding but there have been no reports of serious injuries.

Fire fighters rescued a woman at the Brookside Caravan Park in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, south west Wales after a tree was blown on to a caravan.

A lifeboat sent to help a 20ft fishing boat which ran aground on sand banks at Newport, South Wales got into difficulties itself, the Swansea coastguard reported.

And football fans at Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground watched in horror as part of the stadium roof was blown down during the Division One club's match with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Sheets of corrugated iron flew from the roof in gusts of up to 70mph, landing on empty seats just a few feet from the crowd.

One fan, Steve Birt, 31, from Wolverhampton, said he saw the sheet of metal land in the stadium minutes before the end of the 2-2 draw.

"It was like a flying razor blade," he said. "It was so dangerous - if anyone had been sitting there it would have taken their heads off."

Nearby, in Birmingham city centre, cars were diverted from the Queensway area and pedestrians turned away while a dangerous piece of scaffolding was made safe by the fire service and a scaffolding company.

Michael Dukes, a senior forecaster at the PA WeatherCentre said tonight that although winds were dying down, gusts of up to 50mph in exposed areas were expected tomorrow. The highest gusts recorded in the region were at 10am at Mumbles, Swansea, where wind speeds reached up to 77mph.

The cause was a "small, but vigorous" area of low pressure across northern England, added Mr Dukes.